Oct 10, 20193 min read

FIELD TRIP TO BRAZIL | Buxton Roastery

Updated: Oct 11, 2019

"Growing Stronger Together"

- Bon Jesus -

Visiting the farm in Bon Jesus and Terra Preta has been an eye opening experience in terms of quality crops, relationship with our farmers and understanding the challenges they face.

FARM – Fazenda Bom Jesus

OWNERS – Gabriel & Flavia Lancha de Oliveira

ALTITUDE – 1270 meters above sea level

LOCATION – Cristais Paulistas, Alta Mogiana. Sao Paulo

PROCESS – Natural process, sun dried, 30 days of resting period .

VARIETY – Mundo Novo and Yellow Catuai

CERTIFICATIONS – Rainforest Alliance certified, UTZ certified and Alta Mogiana Specialty Coffee Association (AMSC)

Bon Jesus - Good Jesus

A family with a long heritage in coffee culture both are grandchildren of coffee producers. They passed their love and care on to their sons, Lucas and Gabriel junior who are also dedicated full-time to the farm. In 1984 they formed The Labareda Group, diversifying into various rural activities, however, coffee is still the foremost passion in their hearts and indeed remains their main crop.

"Nat! Can you ride a horse?" - Gabriel Jr

Off we went on a horse ride and learned about different areas of the farm;

Variaty
Irrigation
Farmers
School
Human Resource
The Lab
Coffee Production and Structure

Gabriel's third genaration coffee farming

It promotes a higher conscience about speciality coffee in the region as well as developing better farm practices. Performance bonus payments are also made alongside employees fixed wages. Flavia verifies that all employees on the farm must be literate and receive specialized training to do their job. As for the workforce, all their children are enrolled at the local school which is also located on the farm.

"Combining the family tradition with the latest technology and passion for coffee".

- Terra Preta -

Award Winning 2016 and 2017 Cup of Excellence

FARM – Terra Preta

OWNERS – Fernanda Maciel Raucci and children

ALTITUDE – 1090 meters above sea level

LOCATION – Pedregulho, Alta Mogiana. Sao Paulo

PROCESS – Natural process, sun dried, 45 days of resting period .

CERTIFICATIONS – Rainforest Alliance certified, UTZ certified and Alta Mogiana Specialty Coffee Association (AMSC)

Terra Preta translates to black soil and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, broken pottery, compost and manure. Charcoal is stable and remains in the soil for thousands of years, binding and retaining minerals and nutrients.

Field day with Fernanda Maciel Raucci and Felipe

Terra Preta is a traditional producer of award-winning quality coffees. Cal’s aunt Fernanda Maciel Raucci and her son Felipe (Cal’s cousin) are the 4th generations of family farmers. Prioritising the quality of the coffee Terra Preta allies new agricultural technologies with respect and care for the environment, as well as offering better conditions for their employees.

We have to discuss everything from pricing and quality as we are buying coffee directly from both farms with Calum.

Pricing - a lot of importers are using commodity fair-trade price as a benchmark.

"What we are doing is respecting the farmer by asking a specific price for their coffee based on production cost and value of their coffee. We want to move away from commodity markets which includes Fairttrade where the farmers identity is lost and sold on mass markets where price is driven down. If you have a look at most of the top lots from Terra Preta the amount of hard work, craftsmanship, farming and attention to details can't be compared to commodity grade coffee. So for us to compare both markets, it doesn't make any sense." Felipe.

Quality - We work with people that we trust and sharing the same passion for the quality of the product.

Felipe is a super passionate farmer with two 'Cup of Excellence' awards, and it's not just because of innovative farming but the consistency, quality and attention to details they apply every day. Providing not only fantastic coffee but also a great friendship.